State leaders question plan to divide Michigan’s electoral votes

Governor Snyder said a plan to split Michigan's Electoral College votes should not be considered at this time.

Office of Governor Rick Snyder
/ Wikimedia Commons

Two top Republicans in Lansing say they’re not on board with a plan to split Michigan’s Electoral College votes.

Lawmakers have been expecting a bill that would divide the state’s electoral votes by congressional district.

State Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville said that would make the state less important in presidential elections.

“At this point in time, I’m still sticking to my guns. I think the bigger package of votes for the winner brings more attention to the state and keeps us united. So I haven’t been convinced otherwise yet,” Richardville said.

Governor Rick Snyder said on Bloomberg TV Tuesday that the measure should not be considered before the next census—when the state re-draws congressional district lines.

Supporters of the plan say it would attract more attention from presidential campaigns, because some parts of the state would become more competitive.

We’re used to some level of dirty politics in our elections, even presidential elections -- in fact, smears, nastiness and exaggeration have been around since the time of George Washington.

But we draw the line at trying to actually rig the election results. When the verdict is in, it’s in, and everybody accepts the result.

Except now certain Republicans around the country have a plan to rig presidential election results to virtually guarantee that any Republican would win the presidency, even if they really lost.

Republican National Chairman Reince Priebus has endorsed this plan, members of his party are actively pushing it in Pennsylvania, and Governor Snyder says it is worth thinking about in Michigan. The truth is that it is not only unfair, but has the potential, if adopted, to make Michigan less relevant in presidential elections.